Anything Could Happen
by Vanidades
Summary: After a rough break-up, Rinoa decides to room with 4 quite peculiar yet loving males, event that throws their lives and that of those around them into a whirlwind of unexpected emotions and situations they would've never see themselves in. (New Girl AU) Rating may vary per chapter. Chapter 12 up! SquInoa centric.
1. Roommates

Chapter 1: Roommates

Words: 922

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the characters, neither do I own the premise of the story as this is a New Girl based AU.

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As he opened the door he found himself tightly shutting his eyes and hoping that it wasn't another weirdo that had read Irvine's message on the Balamb Board's website. It was true that they were in desperate need of a roommate, but he had no idea of how many weirdos came to their door to get 'interviewed' by them only to get turned away within five minutes of them asking questions - but this he wasn't expecting.

There she sat, on their living room, telling the tale of how she had caught her boyfriend cheating at her while she planned a strip tease surprise for their sixth year anniversary and talking about how sad she was and how she enjoys watching chick flicks while bundled up in the couch.

'Talk about a punch line,' he thought to himself as she blinked her incredibly huge eyes at him.

"That being said, I reaaaaally would love to live here!" She chirped as she looked around the huge pent house, "I mean, look at this place! It's huge! And you guys get amazing light in here! It would be perfect for my job if I could move in here with you guys." She finished smiling and he found himself sighing and rolling his eyes.

Irvine leaned forward and smiled at her, "So, Ms. Heartilly," he said as she moved her eyes to meet his, "What did you say your job was?"

She grinned at him and crossed her legs, the tea length dress she was wearing flouncing as she smoothed the wrinkles on it. "I didn't say, but just so you know I'm a professional photographer. I mainly work with models from my best friend's company, but I usually-"

She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence before she was rudely interrupted by Irvine, "Did I hear right? Did you just say 'models'?" The red head chirped as his eyes lit up with a hint of mischievousness and he looked at both of his roommates.

"Irvine… No." Squall, who had been scowling by his end of the sofa cut in and looked at him straight in the eye, "Don't be getting any ideas."

Irvine was a good looking guy, in her honest opinion, and he seemed full of himself, she knew she had would win his favor with the mention of models and she wasn't wrong, now it was all a matter of convincing the other two. The blonde one wouldn't prove as much of a challenge as the brunette… she knew that he'd be the most difficult one as soon as she saw him after opening the door.

"What do you think, Almasy?" Irvine moved to look at the blonde sitting to the right side of the couch.

"I… I wouldn't know…" He said as he kept on eyeing her, "I think we need a meeting. Would you excuse us for a second?" He stood up and bowed his head as he started walking to the bathroom and Squall sighed, rolling his eyes and standing up to stretch and follow as Irvine followed the blonde and she could've sworn he was skipping and she could hear the door to the bathroom being shut.

Slowly she got up and silently followed them, prying an ear close to the door and making sure she wouldn't make a single noise to listen to their conversation.

"No, just no, Irvine." She heard Squall cut in and Irvine moan in protest.

"Almasy! Say something!" Irvine begged as the blonde shrugged.

"He's got a point Irvine." Almasy said crossing his hands over his chest, "And you know I barely ever take his side when it comes to logic, but this time I have to agree with him. This is a woman we're talking about." Irvine raised his eyebrow questioningly and Almasy opened his mouth to proceed with his statement. "We're all dudes, there are certain things that would be obviously no-no's with a woman around… I'm a physical trainer, when I get home I like to hang lose while I watch tv, that's something that I can't seem to give up so easily." The blonde spurted and Rinoa had to cover her mouth in order to not giggle.

"Ok! Let' weigh in our pro's and con's." Irvine said as he looked at Squall.

"What are you looking at me for?" He asked as he leaned against the wall.

"You're the only one who's ever lived with a woman here, so?"

Squall glared at him and sighed, bringing a hand to rub the bridge of his nose where a matching scar to Almasy's sat, "Pros: They smell nice, they bake, they're clean and organized… Cons: everything else about them." He said as Irvine motioned with his hand for him to keep going. "What? That's all I have to say about this. You're the one that pays for most of this penthouse anyway, there's two additional rooms, do as you please, but don't say I didn't warn you." He finished as he pushed himself off the wall.

"Model friends equal hot female friends," Irvine clapped his hands and threw them up in victory, "She's moving in!"

Rinoa squealed and jumped in delight, "Yay! I'm moving in!" She said as the three men in the bathroom turned their heads and stared at her, surprised nonetheless, "You guys won't regret this!" She added as she jumped, turned on her heels and ran to the hallway to grab her bags.

"Irvine… What have you done?" Squall wondered aloud as Seifer just shook his head.

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Well, this is my first FFVIII fanfic and I do hope you guys get to enjoy it as much as I do enjoy writing it. It'll be based on the New Girl plot, however there will be slight difference on how it transpires. Stay tuned and thank you for reading!


	2. Rebounding I

**Chapter 2:** Rebounding I

**Words:** 907

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own any of the characters nor the premise of this. Final Fantasy VIII is owned by Square Enix while the plot belongs to New Girl on Fox.

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Squall pranced to the kitchen, his steps soft and light as he yawned and scratched the back of his head and fetched for a bowl and a box of cereal, stopping at the counter top/isle in the middle of the kitchen to pour it when he heard a sob and the song 'Time Of My Life' coming from a tv. He looked around only to spot Seifer shaking his head and sipping on his coffee while Irvine just sat and sent an awkward smile his way as his blue eyes widen, questioning just what was going on.

"Good morning…?" Irvine said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"This is the umpteenth time she's watched that movie in the two days she's been living here." Squall exclaimed through clenched teeth as he heard Rinoa start wailing and complaining about how Justin had been such a jerk. "Irvine, you better do something about this!"

Seifer placed his coffee mug down and sighed, "I got this." He clasped his hands together and stood up, making his way to the living room and sitting by the foot of the L shaped sofa, looking into Rinoa's big eyes. "Stop it!" He yelled and Rinoa just stared at him, eyes glossy and swollen, "Stop crying. Stop it now!" He continued as Rinoa just stared back and just then her lips started quivering and then with a heartbreaking sob she had won the battle and Seifer was back to his spot in the kitchen. "I tried…" he said as he looked at Irvine.

Irvine, suddenly aware of the tension that the two males were holding against him and the powerful glare and scowl coming from Squall took a deep breath, "OK!," he said, "I got us into this, I'll get us out of this!" He rubbed his hands together and walked towards the living room, "Rinoa, dear?" He said as he sat by her legs, "I'm taking the remote, ok?" He asked as he reached for the remote and turned off the tv.

Rinoa pouted, holding on to her pillow and pointed at the tv, "Yes, yes, I know, no more movie for you. What do you say we go out? We just go and have a couple of drinks and have fun!" He asked as Rinoa just shook her head. "Come on! It'll be fun! Let's start by sitting up in the sofa, you look like a bum." He said as he grabbed her shoulders and sat her down, "Ok, feels better doesn't it?" He asked as Squall walked to the living room and shot a look Rinoa's way, watching as her shirt fell off one of her shoulders, revealing milky and smooth skin as she just nodded at Irvine. "Perfect! Now, let's go party and find yourself a hot rebound!" He cheered.

"B-But I can't," She whispered with a pout.

"Let's not cross that bridge before we get there." Irvine said as he fixed her hair, "You've got the best wingman there is in Balamb, what can go wrong?" He said as she looked at him. "This will be a journey!"

"A journey?" She asked as Irvine nodded furiously and then she looked at Squall who just shrugged. "Like the one from the movies with the short people and the ring?" She asked innocently as Seifer and Squall snorted and she quirked her eyebrow while looking at the two males.

"Did she just compare her life to a novel?" Seifer asked as Squall laughed.

Irvine gave her a dumbfounded look and held her shoulders, "Rinoa, let's take that specific moment in time… let's pretend that we're rewinding." He said as Rinoa nodded, "Okay, dear, close your eyes and mentally count to 3." The girl did as she was told, "Ok! Now let' also pretend that it never happened! And please, do not make any references to middle age based books or movies… Or anything geeky - for that matter - while you're in this penthouse." Rinoa sulked but nodded, action that caused Irvine to bring a finger to her chin and lift it up, "Now, what do you say about the drinking and the rebound hunt?"

"I'm sorry to say that I'm limited on my resources… no money to drink." She shyed away from Irvine.

"No problem! We're just going to Squall's bar, drinks are on da haaaaus!" The red head yelled as Squall glared at him.

"Just who-" He was cut off by Irvine as he pointed at Rinoa whose eyes had lit up in excitement and was now staring at him with those adorably and hypnotizingly big grey eyes. '_Was this girl for real_?', he thought as he rolled his eyes, "Yes, drinks are on the house…" Squall finished as Rinoa jumped off the sofa and hugged him. "Whoa, whoa, no hugs!" He said prying her off him.

"You guys are the best!" She sang as she shimmied and pointed at them, "Rinoa's going to be getting some buckeeet tonight!" She continued singing as she made her way to the bathroom.

Seifer walked and stood next to Squall and Irvine as the three of them watched Rinoa's petite figure disappear into the bathroom.

"Bucket?" Seifer asked as Irvine shrugged.

"Did she just make a song about herself?" Squall asked as he pointed to the bathroom door and exchanged looks with his roommates who were equally surprised at what they had gotten themselves into with this new roommate of theirs.

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Thanks to anyone who's been reading! I'm going to try to update often, but if I don't it's because I'm procrastinating! Toodles!


	3. Rebounding II

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FFVIII

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The bathroom was foggy due to the steam, whoever was showering was about to burn their skin off, or so he thought since he could barely handle the thick steam that came from the bathtub. One of his big hands made it to the mirror as he wiped it off and started to brush his teeth as Irvine opened the door and entered the room, taking the other mirror and slicking his short hair back.

"This haircut has to be the best 45 gil I've ever spent," Irvine muttered as he winked at his reflection and stood up next to Squall, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Squall, I need a huge favor from you." He said as Squall just quirked a questioning eyebrow at him, "I need you to call Xu."

Squall slowly bent over and spit out a mouthful of toothpaste, "No." He said calmly as he took a small towel and dried his face, then proceeded to turn off the faucet.

"Come on! She's the only one that can get me into that party at the new club downtown! Pretty please?" He whined as he clasped his hands together and bowed his head.

"No, and that's that."

Irvine sighed and slumped his shoulders, "You're going to have to talk to her eventually," he muttered as Squall shot daggers at him.

"Let's make this very clear, Kineas. I'm not calling my exgirlfriend just so that you can go motorboat some broads at a stupid costume party. Just no." He finished as he crossed his arms and stood in the middle of the gigantic bathroom they all shared.

Irvine bit his lip, "Come on, bro! This party will score me some sweet points with the girls at work and, hopefully, a promotion! This party means the world to me!" the red head begged as Seifer entered the bathroom to finish getting dressed.

The blonde stood in front of the mirror and smirked, "Squall, how hard is it to just talk to her without having to fake a British accent and being drunk?" He asked as Squall noted that if all three males were in the bathroom that could only mean one thing.

A snort was heard and a giggle followed it close by as his eyes traveled from Seifer to Irvine and to the foggy thick glass wall that stood in between them and the shower as Irvine shrugged and Seifer continued with his routine, "Somebody's in here you guys!" He heard her say as Irvine cackled.

"We know, dear!" Irvine called as Squall squinted his eyes at him, "We're leaving in 10 minutes, did you shave your legs?" Irvine asked as Rinoa fell silent, "I'll take that as a no and you should take this as a reminder."

"Ugh, I just did that and I'm done!" She yelled as she poked her head out of the glass, her damp hair falling over the only exposed shoulder, getting back in and coming out covered on her towel.

Squall couldn't take his eyes off her as she walked in between him and Irvine, her back completely exposed as he witnessed little droplets tracing patterns on her ivory skin and for a second he thought he could feel his mouth going dry and he couldn't help but to stare. He didn't know if it had been so long since the last time he bedded someone or if this was her, but it was most likely the fact that there's a pheromone machine in the house and it happened to exude with those of his liking.

"Irvine, while I know that this is an important social event for you, don't you think that you could go somewhere else and find someone as charming as you that would share your unique fetishes and well, maybe, want to make it a reality?" She brought her tiny hand to his shoulder to pat him as she smiled and left the bathroom.

Squall sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I- I think I'd like to kill myself now." He said as he excused himself and went to his room to start getting ready.

Breakline

They sat at one of the tables as Squall walked over with their drinks and handed them to their respective owners, "Water for Seifer, bottled beer for Kineas and… an incredible hulk for the lady."

"This should wind me up!" She said with a grin as the brunette sighed and waved good bye to the table. This was going to be a long night.

Squall's bar was quite nice, nothing too big but neither was it too small. The place wasn't too crowded for a Thursday night. She eyed the place, noticing that he stood behind an oak wood bar, then she eyed the corner, realizing that there was a DJ playing music and farther back there was a room for people to dance. Rinoa had never been to a place that served as both, bar and club before, even though she'd heard it all from the mouth of her models.

She took a long sip from the drink and released a deep breath as she eyed Squall doing his thing behind the bar, talking to customers and being friendly, you'd never think this is the same person that lives with them if you had met him while just at work.

"Hey! Look who it is, Kineas!" The voice snapped her back to reality and she looked around to see two guys walking up to her table and she decided to get up and leave before things got too awkward.

She walked up to the bar and sat in front of Squall, who handed her a plate of chicken wings and fried cheese sticks, "Here you go. Straight to the thighs." He added as he handed her a side dip of ranch and another one of marinara sauce.

"Bless!" She beamed as Squall smirked.

"Why aren't you over there with them?" He asked her as he polished a glass of wine.

She looked up flatly and saw that his eyes were now on the glass he was cleaning, "This is not my thing, you know? I don't know how to hide my awkwardness, haha," she said as his eyes moved to hers.

"Well, I don't think you even try to." He mentioned as his eyes went back to his chore.

She pouted and quirked her eyebrow as he put the glass down and fetched another one so that he could continue his cleaning ritual, "Well, maybe that's why you got dumped." She said as his hands stopped working on the glass and his eyes moved to hers.

"Come again?" He said softly as she shrugged.

"You heard me, maybe that's why you got dumped, for being an ass and me for being weird and awkward," She finished as she grabbed a cheese stick and dumped it on the sauce, bringing it to her mouth and taking a bite from it, "I know, for a fact, that I've never been good at being social." She finished as she giggled, "Hyne! These things are delicious!" She said in a sing sang tone as he chuckled and shook his head and she smiled at him, looking down to her fidgeting fingers, "Sometimes I wonder what could've I done better, you know?" She whispered as he handed her another drink.

"You'll be fine." He mentioned as she looked up.

"What about you?" She asked and he felt his breath catch up with him.

"I think I'll be ok." He finished as he felt the warmth of her fingers creeping into his hand and before he knew it her little hands were covering one of his and he caught himself smiling genuinely for the first time in six months.

Suddenly one of the guys that was talking to Irvine came up and sat down next to her. Squall retracted his hand as he eyed the man - tall, with sharp cheek-bones and a short trimmed haircut, definitely military.

"Hey," he whispered, "What are you drinking?" The man asked Rinoa as Squall started prepping their glasses and Rinoa smiled playfully.

The rest of the night had gone as Irvine said, smooth and it was fun, she came to the bar, walking as she waved good bye to the guy whose name was Kevin.

"I did what little Irvine here told me to do, just nod and agree, giggle and look cute and I scored myself a date! Dinner and then that costume party!" She beamed as she high fived Seifer who proceeded to ruffle her hair and pat her shoulder. "And THAT's how you do it!" She sang as she mocked the raise the roof move.

"You're ridiculous." Squall laughed owning a stare from Irvine and Seifer. "By the way, I texted Xu, we're going to that party."

Irvine's smile lit up as he reached across the bar and kissed Squall straight on the lips, the brunette pushing him away, "Thank you, bro!" he exclaimed as he owned a glare from Squall and a disgusting stare from Rinoa and Seifer.

Rinoa proceeded to sit down next to Irvine as she was handed her third drink of the night and Seifer joined, sitting next to her, "So, you texted your ex, huh?" Rinoa asked with a smile as Squall just nodded.

The walk home hadn't been half as bad, the guys were walking in front of her as she got to admire the streets of Balamb during the night. It was a sight not many got to experience, the smell of salt fresh in the air and the gusts of wind tousling her waves as she took the scenery in. The town was definitely something completely different at night, people could be seen walking down the street, all with smiles plastered on their faces, as if there wasn't a single worry on their minds and playful conversations between friends and amorous exchanges between lovers could be witnessed all over.

Her eyes traveled back to the pack in front of her, seeing how they playfully pushed each other and teased each other yelling names, eventually ending on Seifer and Irvine sandwiching Squall on a side hug as the tall man tried to escape the unwanted affection by stopping and shimming his way out of it, turning around and waiting for her to join the group. Seifer extended his arm, holding his hand out as Rinoa caught it, his fingers locking around her wrist as he pulled her in for a small side hug which Irvine joined. Squall looked at the group as they invited him and he declined and started walking, bringing his hands to his pockets as the group caught up with him and they exchanged jokes and laughed into the echo of the night.

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**A/N:** The development between these two will happen, just not as fast as some of you may want it to! First we will have them go through some peculiar situations and eventually love shall bloom, but for now it'll be mainly friendship development. See you soon!

_VanyT_


	4. Rebounding III

**Words:** 2327

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything FFVIII nor New Girl related.

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"So, Sel!" Irvine said as he laid back in the sofa, stretching and placing his arms on the back rest. "A model, huh?"

She sat on their otto man, her hair brown and straight with her bangs covering her forehead. She sat straight, eyeing the three males that now sat in front of her, the brunette sighing as he leaned back into the sofa, the other two with examining her every move. Her big eyes went from Squall, to Irvine, to Seifer and back to Irvine and she decided to cut the silence, "Listen here, Rin is one of the best people I know… If you ever do anything to make her cry, I swear that I will come into this penthouse and skin you dead," She said as she leaned forward, crossing her arms over her knees, "Got it?"

Seifer relaxed and threw his arms up, "Got it." He said as he took a deep breath.

Irvine just smirked, "I have no clue of what you just said, sorry. Just trying to sear your face into my brain."

Selphie rolled her eyes, "Rin! What's taking so long?!" She yelled as she got up and started walking towards her friend's bedroom just to find her staring at herself in the mirror, wearing overalls and pumps with a tiny black bra. "Just… what in the name of Hyne are you wearing?" Selphie asked as she wrinkled her nose.

"Oh, Sel, didn't see you there." Rinoa smiled sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head.

"You're not wearing that to your date," Selphie finished as Rinoa looked at her questioningly, "I won't let you go to your first date dressed like that." She eyed the mess of dresses Rinoa had laid on her bed, "Not on those either…" She whispered, rubbing her chin. "I know!"

The guys sat in the living room, talking about this party that they were going to and about what they'd dress up, in Squall's case about what he wouldn't dress up as. Irvine rolled his eyes as Seifer kept on teasing him about how he liked to ruin things for people and their bickering got more intense as Selphie stepped out of the hallway wearing Rin's overalls.

She cleared her throat, "Well, gentlemen… I present you the Rin that you may not get to see too often." She smiled as she stepped aside and Rinoa came out dressed on a skin tight, sleeveless black dress and red pumps. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun with curls falling to each side of her face and her bangs perfectly straight.

"Whoa!" Irvine said as he stood up and laughed, clapping his hands and Seifer joined from his corner of the sofa, "Nice! Very nice, Rinoa."

Squall sat down straight, taking swallowing a lump on his throat and nodding at her.

"Thanks, Irvine." She said as she started to do one of her awkward dances.

"I knew it wouldn't last long," Seifer whispered as he took a sip from his beer.

"I'm going to text him, let him know that I'm on my way," she said looking at her phone and typing away.

Squall leaned back into the sofa again, "You've been texting him?" He asked as Rinoa nodded and he remained silent for a second before saying, "Nice. Have fun." He said smiling at her, as the girl just smiled back at him and headed for the door. "Alright guys, time for us to head out as well." He finished and with a grunt was standing off the couch and stretching.

They walked about two blocks away from the house to the party, the line was ridiculous and on the way down he had missed count of how many girls had turned Irvine down. Truth is that life without these two would, definitely, be boring, as crazy as they may drive him.

"Seifer, what are you dressed up as anyway?" Irvine asked as he came to a stop and Squall continued walking to the head of the line, looking to the inside of the party as the bouncer nodded at him.

"Is Xu here?" He asked the bouncer as the bouncer pointed his chin at him, "She's supposed to be her-" He heard that voice calling out his name again and he felt his body freeze. "Th-Thanks man, I- I think I found her." Squall stuttered as he turned around to face his ex girlfriend, "Hey- uh, hi there!" He waved at her as he couldn't bring himself to look at her eyes.

Seifer and Irvine were just staring, dumbfounded and waiting to see how he would handle seeing her after 6 months of no contact from her part.

"Thank you for getting us in to the party," He said to her as he scratched the back of his head, "You know how Irvine is."

She smiled at him, "No problem… I thought that maybe now you can stop drunk dialing and leaving messages," She giggled and Squall flushed, staying silent, "Don't worry about it. I was just kidding." The brunette said trying to make him feel comfortable to no avail. "How about we have a drink?" She asked him as he looked at her. "Catch up, for friendship's sake?"

Squall stared at her brown eyes and smiled, "S-sure! For friendship's sake." He muttered the last words of the sentence as Seifer sighed and shook his head in irritation.

"You look nice!" she told him as he nodded at her.

"Likewise," He replied as he motioned her towards the bar with his head, "Actually, Xu, I would like to ask you something," He said, bringing a hand to the small of her back as she lolled her head to the side. "Why did you break up with me?" He asked.

She stood straight and chuckled, "Really? You're asking this now?" He nods, "Well, I just… You seemed like you just didn't care about the relationship." She said as he took it all in, licking his dry lips and smiling at her.

"Gotcha…" He whispered, "Thanks."

Squall hadn't realized that this was the closure he needed, this is what he had been searching for. Her answer didn't hurt, it didn't hurt him to know why, quite the contrary, it brought him a sense of peace with himself as he pressed his hands against the small of her back, "Well, let's go!" He cheered her on as he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Kineas!" He heard the voice of Irvine's friend, Glenn, the one that they'd run into at the bar yesterday, and with him was Kevin, Rinoa's date. He quirked his eyebrow as he assessed the situation.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Irvine asked looking at Squall and back at Seifer.

Squall bit his tongue, moving past Xu and closer to his friends and the other two males, clearing his throat to make his presence known.

"What's up?" Kevin asked as Seifer stepped next to Squall.

"Where is Rinoa?" Seifer asked.

Kevin chuckled, straying away from Glenn and Irvine who were exchanging thoughts about the girls in costumes that they could see from the door.

"Squall?" Xu wondered as he raised his hand at her, asking her for a minute.

"Well, she'd been texting me all day, trying to get to know me and whatnot, I just want to fuck her, not marry her, geez! Talk about suffocating." Kevin said with a smirk.

Seifer sighed, "Did you at least tell her you weren't going to the restaurant?" The blonde asked.

"Pfft. Yeah righ-" He didn't get to finish the sentence.

Squall's punch had met him right in the mouth, as he fell down to the floor and Squall stood over him menacingly with Seifer by his side, "You asshole."

Kevin spat, "What's your problem, dude?!" He asked as he wiped the blood off his lip and looked at Squall, swallowing hard when he met his cold gaze.

"Sorry, Xu, there's someone that needs me right now." He said as he waved away from Xu, leaving her confused, "Irvine, are you coming?"

Irvine looked at Xu, back at the inside of the party, back at Xu and then back to Squall, "Are you serious, bro?"

"For the last time, Irvine, do not try to make bro happen." Squall said to him as him and Seifer started to walk away, "So, coming or not?" He asked as his pace fastened.

"This can't be happening right now." Irvine muttered, watching as a girl dressed up as a cheer-leader waved at him to come inside and moved to see Squall and Seifer's form getting smaller by the second, "Goddamit!" He whispered as he started to run behind the other two males.

They ran through the streets as small droplets of water fell. Squall could feel the cold sting of the air in his lungs and his thighs aching with each stride he took, but he didn't care, Rinoa was by herself at a restaurant, waiting for another guy who had just hurt her and he couldn't let her deal with that by herself. He, too, knew what loneliness feels like, and it's not something you want to sucumb to, so he ran faster, the strides taking a toll on his shins and he damned the time he decided to stop exercising.

He didn't remember when was the last time he ran, or why he ran. Hell, he couldn't even remember what made him start caring about the well being of his new roommate after just two days of knowing her, but he had to get to the damn restaurant as fast as possible and damn it all if he was going to let the fatigue win this battle.

The waitress came for the sixth time that evening as Rinoa looked up with an apologetic glance, "Do you think I could just get one more glass of water? I'm sure he'll be here soon," She finished as the waitressed smiled at her.

"Sorry, but we need the table," She finished and just then she was interrupted by the heavy breathing of a brunette that now leaned on one of the chairs.

"S-Sorry we're late," Squall said between breaths as Seifer stood next to him, bringing his arms to his waist and taking deep breaths, "We're her dates." Squall said, standing up straight and taking short breaths, his eyes never leaving Rinoa's.

Irvine ran inside, standing next to the server, "Could you, please!, bring me some water!" He begged as he sat down on one of the chairs, "I feel like I just ran a marathon."

Rinoa could feel tears welling in her eyes as she smiled at them, "What are you doing here?" She asked letting some tears fall.

"That guy was an asshole," Seifer said as Squall nodded.

"Couldn't agree more," Irvine said from his chair, "Where's the water!?" He screamed in frustration, "Goddamit, Seifer, what are you training me for? Even Squall is in a better shape than I right now!"

Rinoa chuckled as she eyed her roommates, "You guys ditched a party for me?" She said in between sobs.

"Yes, and oh the many hot girls I could've gone home with! This is a sacrifice you know?" Irvine said as he reached for her glass of water, "You better not be leaving a tip for this waitress." Rinoa chuckled.

"You guys did that for me?"

Squall smiled at her again, "Yeah, I- We like you," He caught himself before he said something he could regret later on, "We- we care about you." He finished as she dropped her face into her hands and continued crying, "Whoa, whoa… Umm… Could you, could you not cry in front of everyone here?" He whispered as Rinoa looked up. "Stop, stop it please." He continued whispering.

"Rinoa, stop…" Seifer whispered as Irvine just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "STOP IT!" He yelled, but Rinoa just kept on going.

"If you stop crying… I promise to take you home so we can watch Dirty Dancing again. I'll even sing with you." Squall said as Rinoa immediately stopped her crying and looked up, making Squall regret the moment he decided to make such a stupid promise.

The four of them sat on the couch, Squall to the far right corner, next to him Rinoa cuddled up to Irvine and by the other end Seifer drinking his beer as they all watched the tv in silence, the last scene of the movie coming up.

"You know, Rinoa, this movie is actually pretty good," Squall said as Rinoa nodded.

"Thank you for tonight, she said looking at Squall and smiling at him.

"Rinoa, I know you've had a rough patch," Irvine said, his eyes not leaving the tv as Rinoa looked up to him, "But just so you know, and this is coming from me, not any of the other males in this room, but solely me…" He sighed, "No matter what, whenever you need me… I would totally do you." He said as Rinoa just smiled at him and cuddled up closer to him.

"That's so nice of you, Irvine!" Rinoa said with a smile.

"I know, right?" He beamed.

"Seifer!" Rinoa called and last thing Irvine knows he was being slapped in the back of the head.

"You're disgusting, Irvine." Squall muttered as he took a sip of his beer.

"Couldn't agree more," Rinoa said as she scooted closer to Squall, who had brought his arm around her shoulder.

Irvine whined and complained about the smack that Seifer had given him as the four of them continued talking about what a great night it had been and Irvine went to describe, into full details, the things he would've done with each girl he could've taken home and Squall complained about how much more disgusting he could get, as Rinoa closed her eyes and thought to herself how life was so colorless before she met these three men.

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A/N: Welp, there's the chemistry that we all know these two have, and there'll be more, and more fluff but nothing major until later chapters... Sorry!

Cheles Noir, Thank you for the lovely comments! They made my day! If you have Netflix you can watch the first and second season of the show; it has definitely become one of my favorite shows.

Thank you, everyone, for reading! See you soon.

_VanyT_


	5. Giggles

**Words:** 1176

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FFVIII nor New Girl.

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_**5. Giggles**_

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Helping Rinoa move her stuff out of her apartment had been hell, not only was her old house located at the other end of the city, but her ex boyfriend had proved a challenge when he had refused to hand over some of her stuff, irritating him to the point of wanting to deck him, but Irvine had taking care of the hitting, as he slapped him in the face and proceeded to take Rinoa's stuff, only so that they could make it home, drop everything off along with Rinoa and head over to the airport to pick up their other roommate, who had just come from a deployment.

He rested his chin on his hand, his eyes lazily staring at the mug of coffee that Rinoa had placed in front of him. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked through a yawn.

"What else would I be doing other than cooking breakfast for Zell?" She pointed at him with the spatula.

The door to the room flew open as a out of breath and very shirtless and sweaty Irvine came through with an equally sweaty Seifer and they slump on chairs next to Squall at the counter top.

"What's for breakfast?!" Seifer asked as he used a towel to dry his sweat.

Rinoa looked at them with a grin and handed them each a plate of scrambled eggs with vegetables and toast followed by a small bowl full of oatmeal, "Here you go, boys! I'm taking these to Zell since he mu-"

Squall grabbed her wrist and gave her a warning stare along with a shake of his head. "Let him be. I don't think anyone wants to hear his annoying voice so early in the morning," He grunted and proceeded to eat his breakfast as Rinoa shrugged and put everything in the microwave.

"Ok, then I'm going to start getting ready for work."

And with that she disappeared into her room as the boys ate their breakfast and Zell walked to the kitchen, fetching his plate from the microwave and sitting with them as they ate in silence.

"Morning, Chicken Wuss." Seifer muttered from behind his coffee mug owning a weak wave from Zell.

Squall finished his breakfast and put the plates on the dish-washer, walking further into the house and disappearing into the bathroom, leaving the other three males to their own before they started cracking jokes and pissing each other off. He proceeded to take his clothes off and turn the water on, letting the steam from the hot water build up as he started scrubbing himself.

He rinsed himself and was too distracted to hear the door opening as he walked out of the shower, the towel drying his hair and he could swear he heard a squeal. Realization hit him like a bag of bricks as he pulled the towel down and covered himself waist down, his cheeks flushing scarlet, matching those of the girl that stood in front of him.

She looked around due to nervousness, until she found his eyes and she found herself giggling and running out of the bathroom as Squall screamed her name and she shut the door to her room.

"This is ridiculous!" He yelled as he shut himself in his room and Zell peeked his head through the hallway, opening the door to his room and walking in as he dressed himself, his face still red/ "I can't believe this!" He continued muttering, enraged.

"What's up?" Zell asked as he leaned his back to the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What's up is that Rinoa walked into the bathroom and laughed after seeing me naked." He fumed as he put his shirt on, "She laughed!" He finished as he stormed off the room and out of the apartment.

Zell sighed and moved to Rinoa's room to find her grabbing her camera bag and her tripod, she was wearing skinny jeans and a black top, matching with black flats and her head was put up on a pony tail, her bangs held back by one or two bobby pins. "Why'd you laugh?" He asked her as she felt her fingers falter and she dropped her tripod.

She reached for it and stood up, holding the tripod with one arm against her chest and fixing her glasses with her free hand as she grinned sheepishly at Zell, "I didn't know how else to react?" She said as Zell sighed once more.

"Squall is very sensitive and conscious about his body, you know?" Irvine said, entering the room and taking a bit of his toast.

"He must be overthinking it so bad right now," Seifer added with a scoff as Rinoa took a deep breath and looked down to the floor.

"I really did it this time, didn't I?" She asked as the three men started to laugh and she couldn't help but to blush.

The scene at the bar had picked up this Saturday night, orders were flying left and right as Squall kept everyone in check and making sure that the orders were right. His underling and newest hire was working with him tonight and when she wasn't busy taking orders she was too busy trying to get a handful of his butt and trying to start conversation.

"So, how about I take you home tonight?" The blonde asked as Squall smiled at her, he never knew when she was being serious, but he could definitely use some company of the physical kind.

"Sure, but you have to help me close." He winked at her and he could swear he was slapping himself mentally.

It was almost two in the morning when the door to her apartment flew open and she pinched him against the wall, her mouth pressing against him fervently as his hands roamed her back and hers lingered on the hem of his shirt, carefully lifting it over his head as they distanced themselves with each other and then she moved to remove hers.

He felt his mouth go dry as she shimmied her way out of her pants, "Your turn!" She giggled and suddenly the rush he was feeling was gone.

"Ah, I didn't think things would go this way tonight, Shiva…" He smiled, scratching the back of his head as she tilted her head to one side, her long blonde hair falling to one side, revealing ombre blue tips.

She sat on her bed with a sigh. "So, you're one of those, huh?" She asked him as she patted on the bed spot next to her. "At least come into bed, then. We can make out like teenagers." She winked at him as he fetched his shirt and put it back on, moving to the bed and lying down.

Shiva continued kissing Squall, trailing kisses down his jawline as he looked at the ceiling with disinterest, Rinoa's giggle echoing into the void of his brain and making it impossible for him to concentrate on the task at hand. This was going to be a long night.

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A/N: This story is coming along quite fast, and I can only hope I can keep that tempo for a while. Hopefully more updates to come along as often as these first chapters have. I'm glad to see that there's so many of you enjoying it. Thank you so much for your time!

_VanyT_


	6. Show Him Yours

**Words:** 1853

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FFVIII nor New Girl.

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"Let me guess: you laughed?" Selphie's voice came through the speaker of her phone and she blushed, looking down at her feet as she wiggled her toes, sitting on the edge of her bed and remaining silent, "I'm going to take your silence as a yes." She could hear Selphie giggling on her end and she moved to hold the phone between her shoulder and chin, leaning down and stretching, touching her toes.

"Hnng, how'd you know, Sel?" She asked and Selphie reminded her of the many times she had told her about her bad habit of giggling whenever someone mentioned reproductive members or whenever she saw them. It wasn't that she was ignorant, it was that she would get nervous, after all, she's always been aware of her sexuality and it's just as awkward as her normal life. "How can I make this right, Sel?!" She whined, "It's been a week and he's barely looked at me in the eye… He avoids me!"

"Hmm…" Shelphie muttered into the phone and remained silent for a bit as Rinoa could hear the mess in the background, she was shooting but her wheels were cranking, she would tell Rinoa a solution to her problem, she knew she could count on Selphie at a moment like this, "There's only one way to make things right, Rin." Selphie said as Rinoa sat up straight on her bed waiting for the answer, but what came she did not expect, "You need to show him yours."

Rinoa remained silent for a second, hers? Her what? This was such a vague answe-"WHAT?!" Rinoa screamed.

"It's the only way to make things right. Boys do it all the time, 'You show me yours, I'll show you mine' kind of thing… Anyhow, I have to go, we're about to start shooting." And with that Selphie hung up the phone, leaving Rinoa to deal with her consciousness.

She had spent the whole day trying to figure out a way to make this work. Squall had spent a whole week avoiding her and the guys were just making so much fun of her it hurt, for a little while she had even considered not stepping out of her room and just going out whenever necessary. Too bad pizza deliveries left it at the door and couldn't make it all the way to her room, because if that were the case that's all she would be surviving on for the week.

Squall had been going out with one of his bartenders, a girl named Shiva, and he was on his way to the bar as she had stepped out of her room. They both stood still and looked at each other as they blushed and Squall turned on his heel to start walking away when she reached out for his arm.

He looked at her and at her hand, then back at her and quirked an eyebrow, annoyance evident in his glare, "Aah, sorry," She said letting go, "Squall, I- I'm sorry, I didn't laugh at you. I actually think you're well endowed. I actually have this really bad habit in which I just laugh whenever I am presented with awkward situations and I just couldn't help it and-"

"Whatever. I have to go," He cut her off and started to walk away from her.

"Squall! Let's talk about this! I want to know how you feel!" She said as her hand clutched the hem of her shirt and she looked down to her feet.

"You want to know how I feel?" He asked her, walking towards her, "I'm frustrated, actually I've reached a point beyond frustration," He said rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"You're talking, this is good!" She cheered and nodded at him to continue.

He rolled his eyes and sighed, "You're so annoying!" He screamed, throwing his hands up in the air, the thunderous roar making Irvine and Zell poke their heads out of their bedrooms as they watched the scene, "You know, I've been going out with a very hot woman. We've been about have sex, THIS CLOSE TO HAVING SEX!" He brought his hand up, his thumb and index finger indicating the apparent closeness of the moment, "But no! I can't!"

"Why?" She asked looking up at him.

She blinked those ridiculously enormous eyes of hers from behind her glasses and he almost forgot what he was arguing about until he thought of Shiva, "Why? Because all I can think of at the moment of taking off my pants is that annoying giggle of yours! It's stuck in here," he pointed at his temple, "Like a damn broken record! That's why!" He yelled and stormed off the apartment.

Irvine and Zell snorted from their doors as Rinoa turned around to glare at them. The red head stood up straight and shrugged his shoulders, clearing his throat.

"Well, I'd say that's progress," Zell said as he chuckled and Rinoa threw a shoe and hit the wall as he kept on laughing.

She looked at herself on the full length mirror she had by the corner of her room, taking in her form as she stood naked in front of it, bringing her hands to her waist and nodding at herself, she was no longer that chubby college student. She had spent time and money on diets and gyms and she looked good, so she was going to do what Selphie had told her to do… She would show Squall 'hers'.

She turned around and grabbed the towel she had left on top of her bed and slowly moved to Squall's room, opening the door silently and closing it just as silent, proceeding to sit on his bed. She didn't understand why would he need such a big bed for himself, but it was none of her business, so she lied back, propping herself on her elbows as she eyed the room.

It was the same size as hers but the tidiness that he kept on it made it seem bigger. He had a huge bookshelf in front of his bed and she could spot some classics, as well as some college books, a picture of a girl with a man that somewhat resembled him, another one of a beautiful and angelic looking woman with a baby on her hands, whom she assumed to be his mother and another one of him with Irvine, Zell and Seifer, all in military uniform. She didn't know they were military, I mean, she'd seen Zell come back from a deployment but the other three never mentioned being in the military as well… She wondered if they all became friends at Garden or if they had known each other from before, and she also wondered if they had met her father before.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the main door of the penthouse flying open and she sat down straight, getting herself ready to receive Squall. That was until she heard the kissing and smacking of mouths against each other, the fumbling of limbs and Squall's voice guiding whoever it was he was with.

She panicked and looked for a place to hide as she heard the doorknob twisting, she had no choice, she would hide behind his bed and slowly crawl her way out of his room. Without further thinking she pressed herself against the wooden floor and she heard the thump of the bodies against the mattress, so she got on all fours, looking at the couple that lied on the bed, Squall on top, his back to hers as Shiva pushed him off her to take his shirt off, the girl was already halfway naked as she pulled him back to her and Rinoa saw her opportunity, it was now or never, she thought to herself as she started crawling out of the room, stopping by the foot of the bed to look back and just then Squall's eyes opened, much to her dismay.

She placed a finger over her mouth, begging he didn't say anything but his body froze and his eyes lingered on her.

Shiva opened her eyes and cocked her head back, looking for whatever it was that had stolen his attention and there it was, by his door and covered in a blue towel; she screamed.

Rinoa got up and fumbled around, looking for the doorknob, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Squall yelled at her as Rinoa jumped on the spot, throwing her hands up and her towel fell to the floor.

She looked down at the towel that pooled around her ankles and blushed, looking back up at Squall, then at Shiva, "Hey, Shiva! I'm Rinoa, Squall's housemate, nice to meet you!" She bent over and grabbed her towel, opened the door and ran into her room across the hallway.

Shiva looked at Squall dumbfounded and covered herself, "I- I think I better go," She said as she reached for her black dress and Squall sat on his bed nodding at her.

A few minutes passed and Rinoa heard the door to the apartment closing and she opened the door to her room to see Squall standing in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest. "Hey…" She whispered.

"Hey back at you," He said leaning against the frame of her door, "Just what were you thinking," He chuckled and she smiled at him.

"Ah… nothing really, couldn't you tell?" She told him as he nodded.

"Point taken." He pushed himself to stand straight and turned around, rubbing the back of his head, "Good night, Rinoa." He said while he yawned and he stopped at the mention of his name, "Hn?" He turned around to see her looking at him.

"Did you… Did you see anything?" She asked him as he smirked at her.

"Everything." He said, making sure to put emphasise each syllable, as she sent him a questioning look, "Not bad if that's your next question. Now, good night." He waved weakly at her as he walked into his room and closed the room.

Selphie was right, all it had taken was for her to show herself naked at Squall's room to stop the awkwardness between the both of them. She closed the door behind her and smiled, moving to her bed and getting under the covers with a smile on her face, thankful that things were back to normal between the two of them.

Meanwhile Squall lied on top of his bed, wide awake as his eyes lingered on the same spot of his ceiling, 'Talk about a ridiculous night…' he thought to himself as he smiled to himself, remembering Rinoa's naked body. He had to admit that she wasn't all that bad… at all, she was actually pretty damn hot and fit.

He sighed as he looked down at his trousers and the bulge that had risen and pressed against the flyer ever since he walked into the apartment. His train of thought reeling to places that he shouldn't have ventured into as he remembered her flawless and pale skin.

Life had decided to play one sick and twisted joke with him.

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**A/N: **Poor baby Squall! Haha, I love getting him flustered and whatnot, but no worries! I promise that things will get a whole lot worse before they get better for him. I hope you guys are enjoying this story! See you soon!

_VanyT_


	7. Friday Night

**Words:** 1299

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FFVIII or New Girl.

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It looked like a sea of people as she stood by the bar, looking around trying to spot Selphie amongst the crowd, people dancing and drinking surrounded her as she wrinkled her nose away, spotting Selphie by the DJ booth, dancing and flailing her arms to the beat as Rinoa waved at her and called her name for what must've been at least a dozen times before she made her way through the swarm, pushing people out of her way, getting stepped on and muttering curses as she made her way to her friend, finally reaching her and placing a hand on her shoulder, bringing Selphie back down from cloud nine.

"I got your text message! Let's go!" Rinoa yelled over the movie and pulled her along as she could hear Selphie giggling.

Once they made it outside the club Rinoa sighed and started walking towards her car, "What a night!" Selphie beamed as Rinoa held her hand.

"What are you doing here by yourself, Sel?" Rinoa asked, fetching for the keys to her car and hitting the beeper once as the car roared to life.

Selphie sighed and slumped her shoulders, "Broke up with Jason, guy was a total dick head." She muttered watching as Rinoa opened the passenger door and pushed her towards it, "Can I go to your place for the weekend? I don't want to be home alone."

Rinoa looked at her and smiled, "It's Friday night so the guys are probably busy, so why not? That way you can keep me company and we can do fun stuff!" and with that being said they both got in the car and made their merry ways to the penthouse.

Squall sat on the sofa, a bowl of pretzels and a beer on the coffee table in front of him and a controller for their gaming system on his hands, his eyes fixed on the big tv screen as Zell sat besides him reading a book and eating pizza.

"Gentlemen, it's Friday night!" Irvine said as he walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. "Time to go party!" He yelled as Squall just shook his head and Zell looked up at him.

"We're not going anywhere." Squall muttered, catching the redhead's attention, "I've been working back to back for the past couple of days, all I want to do is relax, drink beer, play video games and go to my room and look up stupid videos over the internet on my laptop as I fall asleep."

Zell nodded and looked at Irvine, "Would you, for the love of Hyne, put some damn pants on?" The door of the apartment flew open as Rinoa and Selphie walked into the living room and Squall put the remote down, sighing and taking a sip of his beer.

"Heeey~" Rinoa sang as she looked at the three guys on the sofa.

Squall rolled his eyes and sunk into the sofa, Irvine and Zell looking at Selphie as she bee-lined her way to the bathroom excusing herself.

"Umm, guys, I just brought her here for the weekend, she's dealing with a break up, and she's kind of drunk right now? so if she gets kind of touchy with you guys make sure to give her a smack on the hand." Rinoa finished, her eyes lingering on Squall as he raised his beer at her in acknowledgement, the other two just smirking and nodding at her, "Thank you guys!" She skipped and hugged Zell and Irvine, pointed at Squall and moved to her bedroom to change into her pajamas.

Irvine went to his room and put on some clothes, slacks and a tshirt would do and Selphie had somehow managed to get a hold of the surround system and someone's ipod, turning it on and starting to dance with Zell and Irvine, making the penthouse feel more like a pub than a sanctuary for Squall.

"This has to be hell on Earth." He said over the music, looking at the two idiots dancing around the model friend of Rinoa's. "This is the opposite of what I wanted to do today!" He took another sip as his beer eyeing the brunette that had just walked out of her room with pillows and blankets on hand.

"How did this happen?" She asked him as he shrugged and continued drinking his beer. "I was gone for like… two minutes!" Her eyes wide as she looked at trio dancing in the middle of their living room. "Okay, Sel, I bring blankets and pillows! Let's go to bed, ok?" She asked as Selphie just shook her head and continued dancing.

"You!" She pointed at Squall, "C'mere, you little hottie!" Squall shook his head with such fervor it looked like he was about to break his neck and Selphie decided to make her way to him, "Let's dance!" She cheered at him, grabbing his hand and pulling him off the sofa, swaying from side to side in front of him.

Squall shook his head again, drinking from his beer, "I don't do dancing," He told her as she reached for his neck, her hands sliding down his shoulders and to his chest, ripping half the buttons of his shirt open, "Whoa, whoa! What the hell?" He took a few steps back watching as Selphie continued dancing.

Rinoa's face went red, her mouth agape and she slammed the pillows and blankets to the sofa, "You know what, I think I'm going to bed." She said turning on her heel and stomping her way to her room and shutting the door loud enough to make it a point, she was upset.

Squall quirked an eyebrow at Selphie, buttoning his shirt again, "What do you say about going to bed?"

She nodded enthusiastically as Irvine cut the conversation short, "Come on, I'll sleep on the couch!" He told her as he grabbed her hand and ushered her to his room, opening the door and witnessing as she slumped into his bed, smirking down at the image and closing the door but not before bidding her off a good night and then he ran to the living room to join the other two guys that were already slumped on the sofa. "Guys, she's sleeping in my room! My room!"

Zell rolled his eyes and sighed, "I bet that I have more chances with her than you do, right Squall? I just have to be cooler than this idiot." He asked the brunette.

"I'm staying out of this one," He took a sip of his beer and grabbed the remote, turning on the tv and game console.

"Yeah right!" Irvine chimed in.

"Irvine, we all know that you're all bark no bite." Zell added as Irvine sat down next to him and put him in a head lock.

"Ever since you've been gone, Dintch, things have changed around here." Irvine added as Zell struggled to get out of the lock, "Watch me discover and conquer, bro!"

Zell stopped struggling and looked up at Irvine with disgust, Squall also stopping his gaming to look at the redhead with the same amount of disgust that the blonde had in his eyes.

"This is Rinoa's friend you guys, seriously?" Squall asked as Irvine looked at him and grinned.

Living with idiots also had its downsides… as if living with a woman wasn't enough already, she had to bring her model friend into the equation.

The brunette sighed and turned off the tv and gaming console, bringing his elbows to his knees and rubbing the bridge of his nose, eventually standing up and stretching, this had been enough for one night and he had to get ready for the chaos that awaited the penthouse for the weekend.

This really had to be hell on Earth.

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**A/N:** I had no idea this story would have so many hits, you guys! Thank you so much for giving it a chance! Thank you for keeping up with it and taking your time to review. Much love to all of you.

_VanyT_


	8. A Man's Toes

**Words:** 1832

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the FFVIII characters or the AU which I have based this series off (New Girl)

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He sat at the high counter top they had in the middle of the kitchen as he eyed her pouring some vegetables on the eggs she was cooking.

"Would you like some eggs?" She asked him as she used the spatula to mix everything together.

He shook his head and took a sip of his beer, "As you may have seen before, I've got my own breakfast. And I don't need anyone to take care of me, thank you." He added as he took a bite out of a sandwich.

She turned around and gave him one of her signature funny looks, eyebrows quirking and a little pout on her lips, "Just stop being so nice," He muttered as pink dusted his cheeks and he took another sip of beer, watching her as she rolled her eyes and turned on her heel to serve breakfast and they both stopped on their tracks as they heard Selphie's squeal. "Well, someone's awake and with Irvine in the room…"

"Now that she's sober, chances are you'll get along with her just fine," She pointed at him with the spatula and winked, something she seemed to do quite often, he thought.

Selphie looked at the shirtless and sweaty man that lied on the floor, crunching his abs like a maniac as she let her face hit the bed again, "What did I do last niiiight~" The comforter muffled her complaint as Irvine sat down and looked back at her.

"Good morning!" He cheered as Selphie grunted, getting up and slamming the door to the room and ran to the bathroom.

Zell walked into the bathroom and started brushing his teeth and after a couple of minutes Irvine followed trail and they both looked in the direction of the running shower, raising their eyebrows as realization hit them.

"What's up with the both of you?" Squall stood by the door as he looked at the thick and fogged glass wall that was the shower, "Oh."

Selphie poked her head out the wall, "Which one is Rin's shampoo?" She asked as the three guys just stared at her and Zell started stuttering while Irvine's mouth hung agape and Squall just rolled his eyes.

"The one that says therapy something," Squall said as Rinoa walked into the bathroom.

"What are you-" She sighed and shook her head, "Selphie, hurry up! Your breakfast is getting cold!"

"You didn't say anything about breakfast!" She beamed and turned the water off, wrapping a towel around her body and another one around her hair, stepping out of the shower and eyeing the three guys, Irvine's mouth still hanging open and Zell furiously brushing his teeth.

Irvine's eyes ran up and down Selphie's body, and he finally closed his mouth becoming conscious about how dry it was and Zell turned around to spit the toothpaste that had foamed in his mouth; Squall was still by the door, staring at Selphie from the corner of his eyes, almost unimpressed by her physique. Almost.

Irvine cleared his throat and was the first to break the ice, "You- You have a very beautiful body, Sel." He said as he smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

Selphie caught herself almost smiling at the comment when Rinoa was suddenly pushing her out of the bathroom. "Got it! I'll go to your room." Selphie said as she tip toed her way across the hallway.

Rinoa stood in the middle of the bathroom, eyeing each of her roommates and scowling at them. "I'm so very disappointed at all of you," She walked towards the door, "Specially you!" She pouted and looked at Squall who looked down to meet her eyes.

"What did I do?" He asked as she puffed her cheeks and walked away indignantly, leaving him to the other two guys who just looked at him and shrugged.

Rinoa made it to her room and sat on the bed, where Selphie lounged in nothing but her underwear, munching on the breakfast that Rinoa had prepared for her. Her long and straight brown hair falling over her neck and ending right above the mound of her breasts which were covered by a pink floral push-up bra, her slim midsection left out in the open and her bottom being covered by matching pink floral boyshorts.

"You weren't mad that I danced with Squall last night, right?" She asked Rinoa as the other brunette shook her head and sat down next to her. "Good!" She cheered as she took a spoonful of oatmeal to her mouth, "Because I think he digs you." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Rinoa's eyes widen, "Me? Squall? Never!" She laughed as she shook her head again and brought her knees up to meet her chin to cover the blush that was starting to show, "We're just roommates." She muttered from behind her knees. "Friends at most." She wiggled her toes.

"Yeah right!" Selfie said as she took a sip of her coffee and followed by putting the mug down, "I bet they've all thought of you at least once while pulling one!" She giggled as she made gestures with one of her hands and Rinoa let her body fall over to her side as she rolled on the bed.

Rinoa looked at Selphie from behind the cocoon she had formed with her knees, "Not every single male I meet wants to sleep with me." She muttered, letting go of her knees and stretching, her crop shirt rising and revealing the milky skin of her mid section.

Her friend took a bite from the toast and egg and smiled at Rinoa, "He likes you. Just look at the way his toes point at you whenever you're around!" She said as Rinoa quirked an eyebrow. "A man's toes point at what he wants, or so my dad used to tell me." Selphie finished by taking another bite at the toast and opened the door and poked his head in.

"Rin, I'm going to the store for a quick grocery run, wanna tag along?" He asked as he looked at Selphie and nodded at her, his eyes moving back to Rinoa ignoring the half-naked model next to her.

"Yes, Rin! Go! That way you can get me that thing!" Selphie said she raised her eyebrows and looked at Rinoa.

"Thing? What thing?"

Selphie stood up from the bed and pushed Squall out of the room, "She'll be right out." She winked at him as he quirked an eyebrow and looked down on her closing the door on him.

He sighed and walked to the door of the penthouse, "Hurry up, I don't have all day!"

"No! I'm not going!" Rinoa screamed at her best friend as she stomped her foot to the floor, her face flushed. "Stop ruining friendships, Sel!" She brought her hands to her head and shook her head.

Selphie giggled, "You're going, and that's that."

"How long is she staying for?" Squall asked as he reached for a basket once they made it inside of the pharmacy.

"Ugh, it's just for the weekend, I already told you!" Rinoa said as she walked next to him, "She's not that bad, I promise, you just have to warm up to her, Mr. Stone Cold." She said as Squall turned around, his knuckles brushing against hers and he reached for something.

Rinoa looked at her hand and then averted her eyes to the left where she spotted a couple making out. She eyed them, she was a simple looking blonde girl and he was a total hottie, she kept on staring as they stopped, their foreheads pressing against each other and she stared at their hands, the way their fingers intertwined and then she moved to look at their feet, his toes pointing at the girl in front of him as she felt a sigh rising up and leaving her lips, her eyes moving to the other extreme of the store where she spotted a couple of old people bickering, the man was facing his wife but his toes were pointing away from her and she felt herself cursing at Selphie.

Her eyes made it back in front of her as she saw Squall snapping his fingers at her.

"Houston to Rinoa!" He said as she shook her head.

"Wh-What is it?"

"I said that you should probably stop trying to take care of everyone." He said as he caught her eyeing his feet, "What's wrong with my feet?" He asked her as her eyes shot up and back down, "Don't like the shoes?" He asked her and she moved to his left side, he turned on his heel, his toes pointing at her, "You're acting weird…" He muttered as she moved back to his right and he turned once more, his toes still pointing at her, "Rin!" He snapped, his hand shooting up and holding her shoulder in place, "I'm sorry if what I said was out of place, but you really should just stop worrying so much about everyone else, that's all I meant by that."

Her brown eyes shot up to meet his and she swallowed hard, her heart catching up with her, the thumping leaving her deaf.

"You don't look so good… How about we just go home?" He asked her as he reached for the last thing on his shopping list and beelined towards the register.

They walked to the car in silence and traveled about a mile or so in silence as well until Squall decided to talk.

"What is wrong with you today, Rin?"

"N-Nothing!" She yelped as he sighed.

"You've been acting way too weird." He said as he brought the car to a stop and eyed her.

"It's nothing, really," She looked at him and blushed. "Would you stop that?!" She yelled at him as his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Stop what? Did I do something to you?" He asked her as she started to play with the a/c buttons of his car.

"Aren't you hot?" She asked blushing, "I'm hot, it's so hot in here, gosh! Why?!" She yelled as a rose vendor stopped and knocked on Squall's window.

He nodded at her, bringing his window down and handing her a 20 gil note as he received a small bouquet of flowers and handed it to Rinoa. "Here, put them on that vase you have on your desk." He said as Rinoa pushed the flowers back into his hands.

"STOP IT!" She yelled, taking off her safety buckle, opening the door and jumping out of the car.

Squall's eyes widen in panic, "What are you doing?" He asked her as she fixed her cropped shirt and her waist high shorts. "Get back in the car you idiot!" He yelled at her as she closed the door and he put the window on the passenger's side down.

"I'm going home!" She yelled and started running through the blocks leaving a very confused and panicked Squall behind the wheel.

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**A/N:** Hey there, guys! Hope I didn't make you wait too long! I also hope you enjoyed today's update!


	9. Apologies

**Words:** 920

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters nor the plot!

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The door to the penthouse flew open as she ran through it, she leaned over and placed her hands over her knees and her hair pulled in a messy bun falling all over her face as her bangs clung to her sweaty forehead and she looked up to see Selphie and Zell looking at her dumbfoundedly.

"I- made it…" She said in between gasps.

"I can see that." She heard his voice, soft yet stern as she stood up and clutched her stomach, bringing her the back of her hand to her forehead to wipe off the sweat.

"Great…" She muttered between breaths and rolled her eyes.

He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and made his way to her. "Are you insane?" He asked her as she looked back at him and shot him daggers, "I asked you if you were insane." He said through his teeth.

She looked up and the seven inches that he towered over her became obvious as his sharp blue eyes bore into hers and pink covered her cheeks and she bit her cheek, suddenly she could smell his cologne and she realized just how close he stood to her and her face flushed completely. If the Earth was to open and swallow her, she wouldn't mind. Rinoa just shook her head furiously and the smell became overwhelming to her as she took a step back and he reached for her shoulders.

"Are you insane?! Do you have an idea of how dangerous it is for you to do something so careless?" He asked her as she moved her eyes to his hands and he shook her, bringing her eyes back to his and she felt her knees go weak, "Why did you jump out of the car? Are you aware of what you're wearing? You might as well be walking around the city on your damn bikini!" She felt him shake her once more. "I'm talking to yo-"

"WOULD YOU JUST STOP!" Rinoa asked him as his eyes widened and his hands dropped from her shoulders.

"Excuse me! I'm sorry for worrying about you!" Squall turned on his heel and walked to his room, slamming the door on his way in.

"Ohoho," Zell mused as Rinoa turned and looked at him. "Now you did it, Rin." He finished as he took a bite out of a hot dog and Selphie laughed with him and suddenly they all heard Irvine screaming.

Selphie dropped her hotdog back on the table and looked at Zell, "I think I did it now…"

Zell smiled and shook his head, turning to the tv as Rinoa quirked her eyebrows and shook her head, stepping out of the penthouse and made her way to the roof to find Irvine with an awful sunburn on his chest and cowering on a corner.

"Hey dude." Rinoa whispered and Irvine waved an arm at her, "I'm sorry that Sel made you wait for her up here by yourself…" She sat next to him, "Is that the reason why you're here in this corner?" She pointed at a little stray kitten that was staring right back at them.

Irvine nodded, "And don't worry about Selphie, I'm used to this kind of treatment from women," He said.

Rinoa patted him on the knee, "How about we go back down and fill up that big old bathtub with some nice lukewarm water while we sip on some white wine and talk about how much we suck at handling things with other people?"

"Only if said bath can be taken while naked." Irvine finished with a smirk as Rinoa shook her head and laughed with him.

Irvine softly knocked on the door and opened it as he saw Selphie slumping further down into his bed, her wide eyes looking at him from behind her bangs. "Hey…" She whispered.

He smiled at her but his eyes dropped, "Hey Sel… I'm sorry, but… do you think… Do you think it'd be too much to ask if we could share the bed? I mean, I'm all sunburnt and it hurts and I have to wake up early tomorrow for a presentation at Garden and, could I please ju-"

"Sure." He heard her say and he looked up at her, "I said sure."

His face remained the same as he walked over to the other side of bed and got into bed and under the covers, plugging his phone to his speaker system and turning the music on softly.

"I'm sorry for everything," She whispered as he turned to look at her, "Honestly, I'm sorry. Truth is, I hate sleeping alone," She smiled at him as he looked at her and she held his hands in hers and turned to close her eyes, falling asleep fast.

He walked through the bathroom door, spotting Rinoa wearing an oversized shirt in front of one of the sinks while brushing her teeth. He made his way to the wink next to hers and sighed, reaching for his toothbrush as she waved the toothpaste at him, chuckling and reaching for it and proceeding to start brushing his teeth as well.

Rinoa stopped and turned to him, smiling and removing the toothbrush from her mouth, "I'm sorry if I acted too weird today," she said as he smiled at him and he smiled and nodded at her.

"It's ok." He finished as she smiled back, not noticing that this time her toes pointed at him the same way his were pointed at her.

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**A/N: **Hey guys! I started getting more hours at work, with it being the holidays and all, so my updates won't be as frequent as they used to be. I apologize, but thank you all for keeping up with me!


	10. Infuriating

Words: 1280

Disclaimer: I just use them from time to time for my stories.

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Squall entered the room to find her sprawled on the white floor, her hair shooting out on every direction. He looked around and saw that her equipment was all over the place, the lights, the big light reflectors and her camera still up on the tripod as a couple of lenses were neatly placed on the big desk at the corner of the room with her computer half open.

"Hey." He whispered, slowly walking to sit down and lie down next to her.

She looked at him and smiled, the paleness of the studio bringing a certain light to his features and she felt herself catch a breath, "Hey back at you…"

He turned his neck to stare at the ceiling and she did the same, both of them lying down in silence and they both enjoyed it. It wasn't often that the two of them were alone, let alone in silence, but when it happened and they weren't too busy going at each other's throats it was definitely serene and enjoyable.

"So, who did you shoot today?" He asked her as she turned her head to face him, he was still facing the ceiling.

"Quisty," She said shifting the weight of her body to lie on her side. "Sorry about Siren."

He turned and looked at her, a smile blessing that perfect face of his, "Not your fault," He said and then turned back to look at the ceiling, "She was pretty cute, though, not gonna lie there." He heard her chuckle and looked back at her, "How are you feeling?"

She sighed and softly placed a hand on his arm, feeling the muscles that flinched as she touched him and swearing there was nothing more perfect than that feeling, "I'm good… Just baffled at how I couldn't bring myself to just fall in love with him," she laughed as he laughed at her remark. "He wasn't grumpy enough for me," She laughed with him.

Squall and Rinoa had became good friends over the past couple of months, they'd talk about their kinks and about their problems, suggesting that they should go out and date other people, give themselves a chance after the heartbreak they'd been through, but the many times they'd attempted at it had ended up in nothing more than another failure added to the book.

"I guess it's not as easy as most people make it seem," He told her. He stretched his body and he could feel his back pop, sitting down and smiling. "I was talking to Zell earlier today." She sat down next to him and hummed to lead him on, "And next thing I know I'm texting Xu and we have a date tomorrow?" He finished that statement but it sounded more like a question and she quirked her eyebrow at him as he brought his blue eyes back to her.

Her reaction was something between a scowl and a frown and he couldn't help but to laugh at it. She quirked up and looked at him, pounding him on the shoulder, "Whatever happened to not going back there?" She questioned him, "Whatever happened to not being attached to anyone, or to just giving yourself time to heal?" She asked him and he looked at her, baffled.

"Whatever happened to you looking for passion? You're one to talk as you go around meeting new guys and breaking up with them before hitting the three months mark?" He replied to her, feeling the blood rushing to his face.

Oh, she knew how to push buttons. She was good at it, and he didn't know why in heavens name he had even made an effort to cheer her up. This was a waste of time and he could think of a thousand and one reasons to not listen to her and her yapping right now but he just couldn't think of a reason to just let it go, nor did he want to. If Rinoa Heartily wanted a fight, that's what she will be getting.

"Xu… Xu, of all people?" She asked him, standing up and cleaning her shorts, stretching her arms and her cropped shirt revealed her mid-section, fixing her hair that was tied up in a bun. "Are you… This is ridiculous!" She yelled as he stood up and stared down at her. "You're pathetic! Can't you just be by yourself?" Her arms went up in the air.

Squall squinted his eyes at her and closed the distance in between them. "What is your problem? Don't you believe in second chances?" He barked at her, gritting his teeth as she stared back at him, "Do you think you know everything? Do you think you have your shit together? Who are you? The most responsible human being? Who do you think you are?" He asked and he was fuming, his face red and she stood her ground.

"You make the worst decisions ever! I'm so disappointed at you!" She stomped her foot, "You're ridiculous! You sell yourself short!"

"You're the one that's ridiculous!" He held her by the shoulders and shook her, "You're crazy! All you spit is nonsense!"

"No! You just don't want to hear the truth!"

"You know what I would like to hear from you? Nothing! Utter and complete silence!" He spat and he saw her take deep breath, closing her mouth as unspoken words died on her throat and she looked away, puffed her cheeks and stepped away from his touch. "I don't need your help, Rinoa!" He screamed and she turned around, her shoulders slumping.

"You're a jerk!" She screamed and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

He sighed and felt his heart tugging at him, "Way to go, you idiot." He told himself.

"Way to go indeed," Zell muttered as he eyed Squall. "You really are an idiot. I didn't say those things so you could go running back to Xu and try to make things right." Zell said as he took a bite out of his hot dog and walked towards Squall.

Squall shot daggers at him, "Then why?"

Zell sighed, talking to Squall had never been the easiest thing to do, ever since they were small the brunette had the tendency of keeping everything in and whenever you'd give him advice he would take it quite literally and everything would just end up in one big clusterfuck. "My situation was different Squall. Stacey and I were never in a serious relationship, we just screwed around and then I'd be gone for long missions and that was that. We changed, I grew up and so did she, we're no longer 18… You and Xu, though… She dumped you because you had changed, because you were different than the Squall she knew and she didn't want all that baggage… And yet you go running back to her like an idiot." Zell finished his sentence and took another bite off his hot dog, smacking his lips as he ate.

"It'll work this time…" Squall muttered and repeated the sentence to himself again as he looked at Zell who only shook his head and walked away.

"Apologize to Rinoa," Zell said, this time licking his fingers and standing by the door as Squall looked up at him and shook his head.

"No! I won't." He said and Zell rolled his eyes, "She said a lot of things that were out of line. That girl likes to push buttons and meddle into other people's business. She drives me insane! I just wanna kill her sometimes!" He screamed at Zell who just laughed and disappeared, not before reminding him that he had some serious apologizing to do.

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A/N: I finally updated! Yay! I'm sorry if you guys expected more Irvine and Zell in the story, but truth is that this is more SquallRinoa centered, even though I have a little bit of IrvineSelfie, SeiferFuijin and maybe some Zell and Library Girl (I need a name for her!) but it won't be as much as the main two.


	11. Drunk

**Word Count:** 1231

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

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She stumbled her merry way across the hall, dragging her feet as she giggled after each hiccup, her hands digging into the tiny purse as she juggled to find the keys. The door flew open and she found it hard to close, resting her back against it and closing her eyes, she found herself hoping that the room would stop spinning so she could get to her room and just fall asleep. Today had been a long day, and when Selphie and Quistis had called her to go out drinking she didn't think about it twice to say yes and now she was dealing with the consequences.

Who would've known that not straightening things out with your roommate for a whole month could be this stressful?

Rinoa took a deep breath and kicked her platform boots off to the side, the black stockings now gracing the floor as she grimaced at the cold. She pushed herself off the door and proceeded to take off her peacoat, tossing it aside and forgetting it somewhere along with her shoes and purse and starting to walk towards her room. Each step proved to be a challenge and she would stumble against the wall every now and then, her balance and motor skills seemed to had been thrown out the window along with her last bit of dignity as she rammed her foot unto the wall, stubbing her pinky and letting out a dry cry as she fell to the floor and cradled her foot in both hands.

The door to Squall's room flew open, revealing a shirtless Squall as he looked down on her, his eyes wide and worrisome, "Is everything ok?" He asked her as she looked up at him, her eyes glossy and he couldn't tell if she was drunk or crying, or maybe both but taking a deep breath made him realize that she was, indeed, drunk.

Rinoa lifted her leg, pointing at his face with her toes, "Thi- This is all becuz'f ya!" She yelled at him, forgetting about the fact that she was wearing nothing more than a short black skirt and a black lacey long sleeved shirt which covered little more than less for his imagination.

He quirked an eyebrow as he looked down at the leg that now pointed at him with an expression mixed between a scowl and a frown, his eyes wandering from her toes down to the rest of his leg just to notice that she was wearing a skirt, "Would you please cover yourself at least?" He yelled, looking away as a slight blush posed over his cheeks and suddenly he felt grateful that it was dark in the hallway. "And what do I have to do with any of this?" He asked her and he heard her shift her body weight and sloppily bring her arms to the wall.

Rinoa supported herself to the wall, trying to get up from the floor had been more difficult than she thought and she found Squall reaching out for her, "Don't!" She screamed as she swatted his hand away, "I dunneed your halp," She muttered as she caught herself with the wall and waved a finger at him. "I'm gon ta sleep." And with that being said she took a step forward, her feet got tangled and she had managed to find herself in his arms. "I told ya I du-"

"Yeah, whatever!" He barked back, lifting her off the floor and carrying her to her bed.

Rinoa was flushed and Squall couldn't tell if it was because she was drunk or if she was feeling embarrassed but she didn't fight him, she just pouted and crossed her arms over her chest as he placed her down on the bed. "I need to take a look at your foot," He told her as she looked down.

"Can't!" She said as he looked down at her.

"Stop playing and let me see."

"You can't!" She brought her hands up to meet his torso and blushed even more, pushing him away and bringing her hands close to her chest.

"Cut the bullshit and let me see!"

"I can't show you because I'm wearing stockings!"

"So? Take them off!" He reached for her waist and clung his fingers to the elastic band of her stockings and she pushed him away once more, this time with her legs.

She let out a loud cry of pain and Squall panicked, reaching for her stockings once more, "I'm not wearing any underwear!" This time tears rolled down her face and Squall could've sworn that all the blood in his body had suddenly rushed to his face.

He found himself taking a deep breath and relaxing, looking down at her and rolling his eyes. There she was, crying while she swore profusely at the pain that came from trying to move her foot, her hair was down, straight this time, no curls, and her bangs covering her misty eyes as he witnessed her slump into her mattress and bring her arms above her eyes and take a shaky deep breath.

"Alright, up we go," He said as he put his hands on her waist and she held his wrists in place, "Come on, Rin, it's not like I haven't seen you naked before." He said as she let go of his wrists and puffed her cheeks, looking down on him.

"Just look away." She muttered as he looked away and started to glide the stockings off her legs, feeling the smooth skin and for a second he felt feverish, until he was done, putting them aside on her floor, not once looking at her thighs and immediately cradling her foot on both his hands and smiled.

"It's just bruised," He said as he let it go and sat down by the foot of her bed, smiling and sitting down by the foot of her bed.

Rinoa pushed one of her feet against his bare back and he shivered, chuckling at her as she continued to wiggle her toes against his skin. "Thank you." She groaned and burped.

"You're gross." He smiled and shook his head.

"I think you mean you're welcome?" Rinoa said as she shifted her weight to lie on her side. "Are we ok now?" She asked him as he moved to sit by her side and rubbed her head making her hair shoot out in every direction.

"I think we are. I mean, I'd like to think we are." He muttered as he looked at her and she took a deep breath. He stood up, a smile on his face as he brought the covers to her shoulders and he caressed the skin there. "Good night," He whispered as he turned around and she grabbed his wrist.

"Stay just a bit longer." She said as he turned around and eyed her, thinking she was sleep talking until she repeated herself. He sat down at the edge of her bed and lied down next to her as she turned around, her back brushing against his arm and he held his breath, cursing the moment in which this woman waltzed into his life and threw his world upside down.

Now to think of the thousand and one excuses to come up with as of to why he didn't answer Xu's phone call once he got to his room in the morning.

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A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this update! I've been thrown out of the loop with work and trying to keep communication with my husband it can get kind of crazy, haha. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you have wonderful Holidays if I don't get to update before then.


	12. Silence

Words: 1065

Disclaimer: They belong to Square Enix and the plot belongs to FOX.

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She turned and saw his face lingering over her, his blue eyes staring back at her as she smiled at him and he turned around, leaving her bedroom. There was something in his face, he looked somewhat perturbed and she couldn't quite tell what it was but if she dared think he looked… almost sad?

Hours had passed and she woke up once more, this time walking to the kitchen with a little skip on her feet. She placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on one of her hands, reaching for an apple with the next one, smiling as Zell came and sat down with her.

"What's with the chipper mood?" Zell asked her as he reached for an orange out of the basket and Irvine sat down next to him, fixing his shirt.

Rinoa beamed at them and laid her eyes back on Zell, "Zell, you were wrong all along, sometimes you have to fall back to realize what you have right in front of your eyes," She said, "I realized that last night while I talked to Squall, and I want to let him know that he doesn't have to settle. He shouldn't have to go back to Xu just because it's what he feels familiar with."

Irvine and Zell looked at each other, the red head glaring at Rinoa and cutting her off before she continued talking, "Well, I'm sure he'd love to hear that, Rinoa. Why don't you go tell him? I think he has something to tell you as well."

"Irvine!" Zell shouted and hit him in the back of the head as the redhead glared at him and growled.

Rinoa shook her head at the interaction between her roommates, "Where is he?"

"He's in the bathroom." Irvine muttered as he scratched the back of his head with a pout on his face.

Rinoa put down the apple on top of a napkin and made her way to the bathroom, finding Squall in front of the mirror fixing his hair, his bare back exposed to her as tiny droplets of water ran down from the back of his neck and parted ways, shooting into multiple directions and ending on the towel that was wrapped around his waist.

She felt her mouth go dry and she took a deep breath, swallowing and licking her lips. "Hey, Squall!" She greeted him as he turned on his heel and smiled at her, an empty and shallow smile, she could tell.

"How's your foot?" He asked her as he pointed at it with his chin, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"It's good, thanks for the help," She muttered blushing, "There's something I want to tell you." She said as she heard her echo her words.

"Go ahead," he told her. "I'm all ears," He placed his hands on the sink and rested his lower back against it, crossing his feet.

Rinoa cleared her throat and looked at him, she wiped her bangs to the side and made eye contact, her brown eyes staring back into icy pools of blue, "Squall, I've probably said this to you about a thousand times before, but I believe you shouldn't settle." She cut herself off, waiting for some sort of reaction but she got nothing, so she proceeded, "Squall, I think you're amazing! You're a great friend and even though you're always complaining about little things you listen to the things I have to say as much as they might annoy you. And you're selling yourself short if you decide that being with Xu is the greatest thing for you. It isn't. And I believe in you… And I think you deserve all the happiness in the world and not settle for something just because it's familiar." She finished as he smiled at her and pushed himself off the sink, taking a step towards her.

He stood in front of her, holding a hand to her head and blocking his face as he looked away, the same shit eating smile he had before was still plastered on his face and that was all Rinoa could see as he ruffled her hair, "Thank you for those words, but it's kind of late." He finished walking away from her as he heard the voice of a woman calling out for his name.

"Squall?" She stood in the middle of the gigantic bathroom as he stood by the door and she witnessed as two arms snaked around his neck, bringing his face down to meet her forehead.

"Oh, hey Rinoa! Almost didn't see you there," She heard her chipper and obnoxious voice and she could swear she was seeing red.

"Hey, Xu?" Rinoa looked back at Squall who apparently was too busy to look at her, "Squall?" She called his name, all to no avail as the other brunette jumped in between them two.

"Did you tell her the news, Squall? I bet she's gonna feel lonely. I can't blame her, though, those other two are idiots," She giggled as Rinoa tilted her head to one side and quirked her eyebrow questioningly.

"What news?"

Xu looked back at Squall, then back to Rinoa and smiled, "We'll be moving together tomorrow!" She grinned.

Rinoa could've sworn that someone had stabbed her right through the heart, she felt a heaviness and suddenly she found it hard to breathe. She moved a hand to her chest and verified that her heart was indeed still beating as she still couldn't seem to comprehend what was happening. She found herself wishing that this was nothing more than one of Squall's distasteful jokes and that Zell or Irvine would come in running and telling her she'd been pranked.

"Xu!" Squall called out on the lithe brunette, "I was about to tell her…" He looked at Rinoa and noticed the hurt that there was on her eyes and immediately looked away from her, "Let's go." He finished walking out of the bathroom as Xu nodded and turned about on her feet as she waved good bye to Rinoa and proceeded to follow Squall down the hall.

And there she stood, in looming silence and she couldn't do anything. She couldn't even bring herself to talk as everything sunk in and she just wanted to be swallowed by the earth. Yeah, today was the first day Rinoa had truly felt like she wanted to disappear.

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**A/N: **Life has been frantic to the point in which it makes me want to scream off the top of a mountain, but I'm back. I will try to update soon, most likely around Christmas time. Now is when things start getting interesting! See you soon, loves! And Cheles Noir, thank you for always taking your time to read and review! Every time I update I look forward to your reviews and those of the other readers that take their time to do so. You guys make writing worth it. :) Happy Holidays!


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